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Follow Friday strategy?
-What do you mean?
If you are on Twitter, I’m sure you know what follow Friday is (and if you aren’t on Twitter yet, sign up for a free account and start tweeting).
Anyway, follow Friday is a very good concept that someone invented to tell their followers which people they recommend on Twitter.
I think the intentions for this was very good when it first started out a long time ago, but as of now, it has (to some extent) evolved to look more like a kind of spam.
Heck, people even hijack your twitter id (and your attention) by using it together with the followfriday hashtag (#ff of #followfriday) and their own affiliate link (or some other crappy link).
Ok, this post isn’t about how to aviod these hijackers but my intentions are to get you to think about how you use this follow friday hashtag.
I believe that the power of Followfriday (from your point of view) will be much greater if you try to stand out from the crowd when you tweet your #ff tweets.
You see, most people just throw in the hashtag and a bunch of twitter IDs there with no description what so ever who these people are. A few maybe add a single word to describe why they recommend these tweeters (like “Leader”, “Favourite” or something) and even less people gives a better motivation.
What I suggest You should do is that when you send out a #followfriday for some people that you want to recommend, you should throw in a short motivation why you recommend this or these people. By doing this, you will stand out a lot from the crowd and it will result in those recommended people getting more followers then by just an ordinary shout out and tt will also give you more credibility in the eyes of the person that is recommended!
:)
I believe it is a win-win situation to do this so start develop a plan for how you should do next time it is Friday!
To all Your follow Friday success,
Dr Jon
PS. Please write a comment and tell me what you think about it! and ReTweet if you like it! :)
Great advice. I’ve been doing this recently – adding a specific reason to follow – and you’re right. It does get more of a response. I’ve done the list thing, and then I’ve just noted a single person (or a few) and why they’re great to follow, and the latter definitely works best.
Do you have any advice specifically for approaching someone you want to follow you back, so you can engage? There are a couple of people I’m really interested in connecting with because I love their tweets/ways of thinking/interests but I don’t want to make the wrong impression. Sometimes this comes easily, but there are a few in particular who are hard to crack!
@aimeewoodall
.-= aimeewoodall´s last blog ..How to brainstorm like a BAAAd ass =-.
Hi Jon,
Thanks for posting this. Being fairly new to Twitter and seeing #ff and a bunch of twitter id’s was pretty confusing. Should I check out 1, 2 or all of them. Mostly I just let it go on by. I’ve seen others do like you suggest and it makes me want to visit their profile and take a look. A much better idea. Thanks for pointing this out.
Don
Jon, Thanks for the advice on #ff. It is great for people, new to twitter,like me, who don’t know all the ins and outs of the twitter scene.
I Love learning new stuff. This Friday I will light it up like I have been wanting to!
Looking forward to the next post. You got great stuff.
.-= Patrick McIntosh´s last blog ..John McIntosh Interview, Local Guru-Shredder =-.
Jon,
Great share… most people
are just blending in with the
others, just like in all other
areas of life.
I always see your #FF shares, they
stand out from the rest. You def
practice what you preach.
Preach on my friend:)
.-= Eric Goldstein´s last blog ..I’m Running A Marathon… Why I’m Doing This?? =-.
Jon,
Great post on how to stand out with FF! As social media marketers we need to make ourselves stand out. If we don’t we will just blend in with everyone else. So your post makes very good sense! Thanks for the great post!
.-= Michael Feil´s last blog ..Developing Your Own Tribe Power Hour =-.
I never thought of it that way. Great information Jon. See you on the Tribe syndication power hour
.-= Nick Logan´s last blog ..How To Have a Blog Stand Out =-.
Jon,
You have some good points here. A lot of people just stack em and rack em. There’s no benefit to anyone when the mass #FF hits the Twitter highway.
By taking a few at a time and adding a little something extra you are not only seperating yourself from the pack but you’re adding value to the people your promoting.
You should also #FF peeps in similar niches. That way your followers receive the extra benefits if they are interested in follow.
Ken Pickard
The Network Dad
.-= Ken Pickard´s last blog ..Social Tribes on Twitter Lists =-.
Hey Jon,
I do not participate every Friday because I always believe that if I am going to recommend someone I better have a reason for it. It takes a bit of time…so I may do it every 2nd or 3rd week.
When I do a “#FF” for someone else I make sure and write something about them that is beneficial for them. After all…I’m not doing it for myself, I’m doing it to support someone else.
If I simply include them in a list…it seems to me to be a waist of my time and theirs…anyhow…just how I have always done it even from when I first started with Twitter…it just makes sense!
Thanks for sharing these things…Twitter would be a better experience for many people if they simply took some of these simple things to heart!
Blessings,
Bruce
.-= Bruce Backman´s last blog ..Trust…in Business and Life =-.
Jon,
Thanks for the great Follow Friday advice.
Will implement this into my Twitter marketing strategy.
Adding value with a reason to promote a follower provides a benefit to them rather than just a mass list of followers.
Thanks again….look forward to reading more soon.
Have a great Christmas.
Liam
.-= Liam McCauley´s last blog ..Home Based Business – Separating the Successes from the Failures =-.
I appreciate this post it is especially good advice for anyone wanting to get noticed. I can see the benefits of doing it smarter :)
.-= Robin Lynn Brooks´s last blog ..What’s All This Buzz about Social Media & Tribes? =-.
Solid advice, Dr. Jon. It’s such a simple concept that I didn’t think of—to sincerely tell WHY you are giving a shout out to someone on FF. I will put a lot more thought and originality into FF Tweets from now on. Thanks for the great tip!
.-= Darlene Davis´s last blog ..That Magic Moment — Your First Online Dollar =-.